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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. march — the month
  5. mine — for digging
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. march — music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. deal — to handle
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rock — music
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. content — the amount
  18. march — the month
  19. bore — to drill
  20. capital — money
  21. content — happy
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. rock — a stone
  24. bore — to tire

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com